Two of you and one me
by leliana McKay
Summary: When two visitors appear out of thin air on Atlantis, Rodney's life takes an interesting new turn. How much will his life be affected? Season five spoiler in last chapter.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate Atlantis nor its characters. This is just written for fun!_

_Spoilers: Up to season four for casting reasons_

_Summary: when two visitors appear out of thin air on Atlantis, things start to get interesting for Rodney. To what extent will his life change?_

_Author's Note: I just noticed that chapter one is sorta the Atlantis version of Point of View,but actually it's not! Stay tuned for chapter 2 _

_Do read and review, please !_

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Doctor Rodney McKay, scientist of genius not only in one but two galaxies was currently examining a strange device brought back by Major Lorne's team earlier today.

An empty cup of coffee laying carelessly on his desk, Rodney was staring intently at a round grayish object. The device didn't seem to be Ancient, yet the design was very similar to Ancient devices. The odd thing about this particular piece of technology were the signs covering it , a strange mix of cuneiform languages, unknown to Rodney or anyone else on in the science department.

Rodney had been playing with it for hours when Radek came to see him.

"Any progress?" inquired the little Czech scientist, a ruffled expression on his face. Rodney turned to him, clearly unhappy by the interruption.

"What? Did you hear me express any sign of contempt from your side of the lab? Or did I make any sound that could have led you to ask that stupid question?" Rodney replied frowning.

"Hey! I just wanted to know if I could help," Radek raised his hands in defense and took a step back from Rodney. Sometimes the Canadian was just a pain in the ass and Radek knew to leave him alone during those times.

Rodney grunted in reply, "This thing makes no sense! There's no switch. The shape fits the hand but it doesn't answer to the Ancient gene. I tried to power it but it doesn't answer to any power input. I even tried different wave frequencies to access whatever is causing the energy reading coming from inside it, but no luck." Rodney continued to rant about the device for a few minutes. When he finally stopped he pinched the bridge of his nose and run his hand over his eyes.

Radek stared intently at the device and spoke, "Could this be one part of two objects? Like an activation mechanism of some sort?"

"I thought that too, but Lorne said his team only found this device. The lab they explored was empty except for it. I reread his report twice. I think this," said Mckay, pointing at the device, "is useless. It is just a piece of junk," Rodney was ready to just toss the damn thing to the garbage when Radek voiced a thought.

"Do you think it's on?" Radek leaned against the desk. Both hands holding his head as he continued to stare at the strange device.

"I don't know!" Rodney tapped his fingers on the desk, clearly unnerved by the device and Radek questions. " There's definitely an energy reading coming from it so I guess it's on or maybe just asleep."

Rodney suddenly rolled his chair backward startling Radek and stood up reaching for his cup of coffee. "I need a refill. I will come back in a few minutes."

"Ok. Go ahead, I will just take a look," said Radek pushing his glasses up his nose and reaching for the device.

"Don't touch it!" warned Rodney.

Radek looked up at him questioningly. "Well, nothing happened when you did, so…"

Rodney pointed a finger at Radek and glared menacingly at him.

"Fine! I will just look at it then!" to which Rodney nodded and left for the commissary.

* * *

Approaching his lab, Rodney noticed a bright glow suddenly lighting the corridor. He rushed inside the lab only to see Radek gaping at two people facing him and with their back turned to Rodney. They both wore very familiar clothes and even from behind Rodney could tell he knew them somehow.

Radek didn't really know what to say to them. He stood there gaping, shifting uneasily under their stare. "Oh my god! … Huh? Hello?" tried the Czech scientist.

"Doctor Zelenka?" said the very familiar voice of the woman while at the same time the man to her left asked, "Radek, you are alive?"

"I… I… I…" stuttered Radek, a bit unsettled by the question.

Suddenly Rodney gasped, understanding rushing to his brain. He put his fresh cup of coffee in the corner of the nearest table with a resounding sound and took a step more towards the two newcomers.

"Oh no! Not another alternate reality!" complained Rodney.

The two strangers turned rapidly to face Rodney, both gasping and wearing shocked expression upon seeing him.

"Oh this is just great! I guess we now know what this device does!" snarled Rodney.

"You are alive!!" said the woman, her voice barely audible as her hand muffled a sob. She sniffed and then launched herself right into Rodney's arms, now crying openly.

Rodney was shocked to say the least, he stood still for but a minute but finally relaxed enough to put his arms around her and hugged her awkwardly.

"Sam?" he breathed out.

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End of chapter one. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you very much to my reviewers: Sam Carter McKay, __musik-luvr__, and __Bluerock 7._

_And also my thanks to anyone reading! Please review!

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_

Chapter two

An alternate Samantha Carter was now residing into Rodney's arms, sobbing, clutching at him like he was the most precious thing in the world. She was trembling and whispering something that sounded like _"…alive…can't be…"_

Rodney tore his glance from the floor to look at the man standing close to Radek. He was wearing a standard Atlantis military uniform and was without a doubt John Sheppard, but still, he looked a bit different. Something was definitely different about those two. Upon catching Rodney's eyes, Sheppard smiled sadly at him and nodded.

Rodney cleared his throat to get Sam's attention. She slowly glanced up at him and gave him a small smile. Rodney smiled back and whispered gently to her "Hi! I guess you are both from an alternate reality, right?"

Sam closed her eyes as tears started welling again, she shook her head in the negative and managed to say, "No, we are not."

Rodney startled "No? Then how? I mean…huh… Did you find a device similar to this one?" He slowly managed to disengage himself from her arms and walked to the device, leaving her standing behind him shivering at the sudden loss.

"Right." Sam answered again eyes unwilling to look up at him.

John Sheppard decided to help her out of her distress, "We sorta had an accident in the lab..." he offered tentatively.

"Clearly!" agreed Rodney. He sighed and tapped his radio earpiece, "Sheppard this is McKay. We have a situation in the lab."

The real John's voice came in his earpiece, "McKay! What's going on?"

* * *

John Sheppard was walking down the eastern pier enjoying the peace and quiet of the empty corridor. Ronon had beaten the crap out of him during this afternoon sparring session and John needed to be far from the gym to relax. That's when Rodney called him.

Rodney's voice came back on his earpiece, full of sarcasm.

"Oh you know the usual! I need you in my lab ASAP and you should get Colonel Carter here too. We have familiar visitors and we need to send them back before the entropic cascade failure starts."

"The what? What familiar visitors?" asked John puzzled.

"Never mind. Just get Sam on your way here. McKay out."

John accelerated his pace and went directly to Colonel Carter's office.

* * *

Back in the lab, Radek was looking wearily in between alternate Sheppard and alternate Carter. Rodney seemed pissed and almost yelled at him, "I told you not to touch it!"

"I didn't! The device started to glow suddenly, and they appeared out of thin air." Radek and Rodney both turned to their visitors, waiting for an explanation. When none came, Rodney got angry and asked them, "So. Care to explain yourself? Who are you if you don't come from an alternate reality?"

Sam, who still had tears in her eyes wiped them away as John gestured at her in loss.

"That's a good question! I was about to ask the same thing…" John exclaimed tilting his head toward Sam who finally managed to compose herself as she looked up at him.

"Well, since Radek and Rodney are both alive I guess it is obvious the device sent us to the past," answering both John and Rodney at the same time, her voice quivering a bit.

"The past!" Rodney stared at her hesitant as to what to say next, "So… you are from the future, huh?"

At that, fast foot steps could be heard from the corridor and the real John Sheppard and Colonel Carter entered the room. They both came to a full stop upon facing… themselves.

* * *

The silence in the lab began to bother Rodney very quickly. Everyone seemed to be satisfied by just observing the other but he however felt very uneasy next to this very friendly and weepy future Sam. He stepped toward the real John and Sam and addressed them.

"As you can see we have a big problem on our hands unless the two of you," he addressed the alternate now future John and Sam, "know how this device works and remember how you activated it."

Future Sheppard looked confused, "Well, I wouldn't know since I walked into the lab by accident."

"You walked into a lab by accident?" exclaimed Rodney in disbelief.

"Walked into an experiment if you prefer!" corrected future John.

The real Sam and John recovered quickly from their shock and Sam glanced suspiciously at Rodney, "What have you done this time, McKay?"

"Why is it always my fault? I didn't do anything. It was Radek," answered Rodney pointing accusingly at the Czech scientist.

"I already told you Rodney, I didn't do anything. It was them who turned the device on."

"Quiet gentlemen!" ordered Colonel Carter. Looking wearily at the other her, she felt an unpleasant sense of déjà vu. She turned to Rodney, "An explanation McKay?"

"Right. They arrived directly from the future using this device," Rodney said pointing at the alien device, "and apparently I'm dead!"

"Me too," added Radek thinking it was an important piece of information. Rodney glared at him in response.

Future Sam who kept fidgeting and eyeing Rodney finally decided to catch his hand for reassurance this was real. This action earned a tiny gasp from her present self who looked startled.

"I'm sorry Rodney. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have been playing with the device in the first place. Now we are all going to die because of my selfishness," she said taking her eyes off their joined hands.

Shocked at first, future John came to a eureka moment, "Wait a minute Sam, is this the thing you talked about? You know, the do not see yourself in the past or the world could go wonko? That's what the device does? Time travel? Why were you playing with it in the first place?" asked John horrified.

"I was trying to change the past obviously …to save Rodney. I didn't think anything like that would happen. I wasn't sure what I was doing."

She then turned to Rodney, "I'm so sorry Rodney," said Sam looking at him pleadingly.

Rodney was stunned by her apology, "I… I… that's all right. I mean this is all theories right. We can be wrong, maybe this won't tear the fabric of the Universe. I don't think relativity has had that kind of experience before," managed to say Rodney, a fake smile on his face. "I guess we will have to figure a way out," he added.

A smile grew on future Sam's face. "I will love working with you again," she squeezed his hand in appreciation. Rodney suddenly felt a sense of dread surround him.

Upon seeing how uncomfortable Rodney was, future Sam came to a decision, "I might as well say it now."

Future John snorted at that, "Yeah right! Like you jumping into his arms was not clue enough!"

She sighed at that and spoke no more.

Rodney gulped and tried not to ask but still did, "So, you and I are...?"

Cliffhanger because I can do that!

_Author's notes: Ok, so yes Sam and John are from the future and being in the past is a bad thing. __Sam Carter explains it in Stargate Sg1 season two episode 1969. More explanations next chapter!_

_Thanks for reading and please review._


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to my readers and reviewers!

SamCarterMcKay: Patience is a virtue... and short chapters mean more chapters!

MissPookamonga: This is scifi! I myself don't understand all of it! I guess Time Travel is supposed to be complicated. I am drawing my knowledge from SG1.

* * *

_In the previous chapter_

_Upon seeing how uncomfortable Rodney was, future Sam came to a decision, "I might as well say it now." _

_Future John snorted at that, "Yeah right! Like you jumping into his arms was not clue enough!"_

_She sighed at that and spoke no more. _

_Rodney gulped and tried not to ask but still did, "So, you and I are...?"_

_

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_

Chapter 3

Sam looked up and continued his sentence, trying to detach her feelings from her words, "Married. Yeah. I know everyone on Atlantis thought it was weird. But to us it was very rational. I guess it was supposed to be that way."

John gasped and stood there gaping like a fish. He then turned to his future self who smiled softly in return. The news that Rodney actually got married in the future could be qualified as shocking or unexpected at least. Rodney himself was trying to process the information.

"I…I'm sorry for your loss," Rodney managed to say, weakly.

"I miss you a lot," said the future Sam sadly, glancing at him with tears threatening to come back on her face.

Rodney felt a sudden pain in his chest at the thought of her, well, Sam Carter in general, dying. He tried to repress his usual selfishness and opened up to her.

"I guess wherever I am, I'm missing you very much too," he told her with a kind smile.

She hugged him again and sighed happily in his arms, "This is the best thing that has happened to me since… a while."

Rodney gently tapped her back as she let go of him. He turned to Carter and Sheppard who were looking at him strangely. Carter cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. Addressing their visitors from the future she said, "Let's have you both examined by Doctor Keller and then we will have a debriefing to clear this situation."

* * *

After an intense medical check-up involving blood samples, x-rays and DNA tests, Doctor Keller confirmed that their visitors were not replicators and were indeed older versions of Samantha Carter and John Sheppard. With no apparent threat for Atlantis, they both joined the team, including Radek and Colonel Carter in the conference room where the meeting was held.

Colonel Samantha Carter, the commander of Atlantis, had had her fair share of Alternate Realities experiences but seeing her future self was something she couldn't deal with yet, especially seeing how enamored of McKay her older self was. This was not her first experience with time travel, but she had never encountered herself before. Not like this, anyway. She was not supposed to meet herself. To her scientific knowledge, two copies of her body could not exist in the same time and space without having some tragic consequences. However, the present situation proved that once again theories could be wrong or at least they were for now. At the moment, the problem was that by being here those two could change the future of everyone and consequently could cause a lot of damage like their own deaths. _How to help them without affecting future events?_ wondered Sam.

John Sheppard was shifting uneasily under his future self scrutiny. _Could he actually see a few grey hairs on his head? _That trivial thought helped him to avoid the seriousness of the situation, especially with Ronon and Teyla having asked him endless questions about time travelling prior to the meeting. He was clueless himself. From the little he understood, this situation was a very bad thing and the two Atlantis resident geniuses looked very worried.

Teyla seemed very worried too. Meeting people from the future was an exiting prospect but the atmosphere was definitely not one of happiness. She shared a few questioning looks with Ronon who just sat stoically, before turning to watch Rodney.

Rodney McKay was freaking out. Everyone could see that. He was theorizing and trying to solve some very complex scenarios in his head. Next to him sat a woman he was married to in the future. He had managed to marry Samantha Carter, his long time crush. This was something that only happened in dreams and he wondered if his future would be like this, because if this happened to him, he was a darn lucky bastard. Well, maybe not that lucky since his future self was dead.

Rodney glanced at Carter, his Sam, who was watching her future self with a blank expression on her face. Rodney felt she should be more troubled about the whole ordeal.

"You seem pretty unfazed by all this. We are going to get married in the future! Shouldn't you react to that! You don't think it's weird, crazy, insane?" exclaimed Rodney, hands moving at a very alarming speed.

Samantha Carter sighed, she should have seen it coming. Out of all things that was the first on his mind. Rodney and his never ending questions, his curiosity was something he had plenty of but led him to trouble on many occasions. So let him be the one to point the obvious and try to mess things even more.

"Well, I think I have seen more troubling things then this. I was once transported to a reality where we were divorced but that's not the point," she replied tiredly. "Them being here has already changed the future. So we might not get married at all, which is weird in the first place as you said!"

Rodney gasped upon hearing the word _divorced_. "What?? We were married in another reality and you never mentioned that to me?" he blurted, clearly outraged by her not telling that piece of information till now.

"I didn't see the point", she answered flatly.

Rodney was trying to think of something cleaver to say. He suddenly thought that they should try to date. Something must have shown on his face because Carter quickly added, "Don't even think about it, McKay!!"

Rodney leaned back in his seat sulking and not willing to look at anyone. To his right future Sam leaned over and patted his hand.

A pang of jealousy…_no, well, a very disturbing feeling_ rang through the present Samantha Carter.

Her future self whispered to Rodney, "Don't worry too much about it. She will change her mind."

Present Sam rolled her eyes at that, "Hmm, should we get started…Colonel…" Sam stopped right there because she didn't know if her future self was a Colonel. "Maybe you should introduce yourself and tell us what happened for you to end up here?"

"Well, you of all people should know I can't tell you about the future." Began future Sam to which Carter replied angrily.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before talking in the first place," she said glaring at her.

The room grew silent at once. The rest of its occupants stopped breathing waiting to see what would happen next. It seemed that the two Carters were having a silent conversation through a series of glares. Of course future Sam had known she had blown it by revealing her relation to Rodney but now there was no going back and her younger self was angry at her for that.

Future Sam decided to make amends by coming back to the point, "I can talk about the device though." She breathed and calmly started telling the rooms inhabitants what she knew, "It was found by … Major Lorne … at the time, and brought back on Atlantis. We had first thought it was Ancient because of the design but the lack of response to the gene led us to stop the research. We had this device in storage for years and we never managed to make it work. However, a few days ago a team discovered the address of a planet where lived a race whose writings were very similar to what was on the device. I personally went to this planet with the team and took the device with me. These people told us that it would _change time if someone needed it_."

"Is it controlled by emotions? "asked Rodney very enthusiast. "This race managed to create a program answering to emotions?"

"Something like that. The Tollans managed that a long time ago so I guessed other alien races could have achieved the same technological level. When we asked how the device worked they refused to tell us more. They said that only in _time of need_ we would be allowed to use it."

"Really? And they let you keep it without asking anything in return?" said Rodney, his eyes growing wide.

"Yes. And from what we know, this race and these writings are similar to the excerpt we have of …" She stopped wondering if she should mention it but decided it could be helpful, "Well, the Furlings."

A suivre...

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_A/N: Yes, you did read Furlings. I have been wondering about them for a while and will talk a bit more about them in next chapter._

_So what did you think of this chapter? I know... too short!_

_Please review!_


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to Miss Pookamonga and Pathconf for their reviews!

* * *

_In the previous chapter: _

"… _And from what we know, this race and these writing are similar to the excerpt we have of …" __Sam stopped wondering if she should mention it but decided it could be helpful, "Well, the Furlings."

* * *

_

**Chapter 4**

"The Furlings?" asked John puzzled. 

"It's a mysterious race SG1 never encountered but found evidence of a while back," explained Rodney.

Carter nodded at him. "Yes. The Furlings were once members in an alliance of four great races, along with the Asgard, the Nox, and the Ancients. The Furlings possessed very advanced technology, including a device that instantaneously transported users over great distances. Colonel O'neill had an unfortunate experience with this device."

"Oh!"exclaimed future John, suddenly realizing something. "Do you think this race might be travelling through time? That's why we never met them. They keep changing century or millennia?"

Before Colonel Carter could even form a response, John had a revelation, "Hey, I know this show!"

"You are thinking about that series where they travel to different Earths," resounded future John with a smile on his face "Sliders?"

Rodney decided to join in, "Oh, quit it both of you! Sliders is not about Time Travel. You are thinking about Quantum Leap. That show is full of mistake and not believable at all."

Ronon and Teyla shared a _I have no clues about what they are talking about_ look while future Sam chuckled and said to Rodney

"You always say that but you love the show."

"I do not!" denied Rodney.

"You do!" emphasized future Sam.

"Well, not yet then!"

"You are just trying to win the argument Rodney. Stop sulking!"

"I'm not!" he protested again.

Colonel Carter rolled her eyes feeling that they were getting nowhere with this argument.

"I'm right and you are lying," teased future Sam, offering him a big smile.

"You know me so well dear!" Rodney said that as a joke but Sam's smile disappeared and she turned her gaze to the table. Rodney immediately felt bad.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Please don't cry, I'm sorry. Of course you are right. You are always right."

Sam smiled and turned to him, "Gotcha!"

Future Sheppard laughed out loud, breaking the tension that had begun to fill the room, "I can't believe you fell for that!" he teased.

"Shut up you …old Sheppard," said Rodney, meaning it as an insult.

Colonel Carter cleared her throat to try to get their attention but failed.

Future Sheppard started to protest against Rodney, "Hey! You don't tell me to shut up. I was you best man for info."

With his trademark smirk the future John Sheppard looked defiantly at Rodney.

"Oh great! Now you," said Rodney mentioning at real John "are going to gloat all day about the fact that your are my best man!"

"Best man is cool! Can I be your best man? " asked John cheekily, leaning against his chair.

Colonel Carter groaned at the banter going on and raised her voice, "I thought we were not supposed to talk about the future. Could we go back to our main problem here?"

Rodney seemed to be pulled out from a trance, "Right, the device?"

"Yes, the device McKay!" said Carter sarcastically.

Radek decided to help Rodney, "We could contact those Furlings to send them back? You do have the gate address?" he asked future Sam. She nodded as John started to talk.

"Well, if they can be found at the same address! If they really are time travelers it could be difficult to find them," he declared with a smile.

Carter glared at John for trying to be funny again.

"We will send a MALP to this planet. Furlings or not it's worth checking." She turned back to her future self, "Can you tell us more about this race?"

"Well, they were surprised to see us. I guess they were not used to have visitors but they seemed to know who we were. It's difficult to explain but they appeared very advanced and very simple at the same time. I think that like all the other members of the alliance they refuse to interfere with the rest of the human population. That could be the reason of our lack of knowledge about them."

Colonel Carter knew exactly what her future self meant. This race was avoiding contact with less advance race. If they ever found them, their chances of ever forming an alliance with them would be close to non existent.

She was brought from her thoughts by Radek's question to her other self, "How did you make the device work in the first place?"

Future Sam sighed, "When they told us it was supposed to help change past events I decided to give it a try. I went to the lab and just thought I needed to save Rodney. The device started to glow and here we are."

"That's it?" asked a chorus of voice belonging to Sam, Radek and Rodney.

Waving a hand in the future John's direction she added, "Yes…John was entering the lab when we got transported here."

Rodney looked at her sadly, "You came here to save me? How did I…"

Before Rodney could finish his sentence, Carter called him warningly, "Rodney! You know they can't tell us! They are already telling us too much. We need to send them back quickly before they get affected by the entropic cascade failure."

Ronon, who seemed totally lost by that statement, decided to join the conversation, "What is that? Why do they need to go back now? Can't they give us some tactical information, like how to defeat the Wraiths?"

John pointed to Ronon, "I second his questions."

Sam sighed, "One time/space continuum cannot support two bodies of the same person for very long, they will vanish from existence if they stay here. They also can't say anything because they are affecting our future already. Telling us what will happen is changing the way we are going to behave. Our future decision might get altered and we could kill ourselves in a situation in which they did survive."

Ronon looked at her skeptically. Teyla however nodded "I see. It might be prudent to avoid talking about anything but the device."

"Exactly!" agreed Sam, silently thanking Teyla for her wise words. Rodney tried not to look disappointed even though he knew they were right.

Radek who had been quiet thinking about the little information they had started sharing his opinion, "From what you said the device seems to be controlled by your thoughts. Maybe you just need to think of going back."

The simplicity of the idea left everyone speechless.

"You are joking right?" said John, which earned him a glare from Teyla.

"Well, maybe they need to be wanting of going back?" explained Radek.

Every head in the room turned to look at her. She shifted under such scrutiny.

"Ah…maybe?" she conceded.

The real question was did she want to go back.

* * *

A suivre... 

_A/N: The mention of O'neill comes from SG1 "Paradise Lost" - Maybourne leads the team to a world where they find Furling technology: a transporter that sends O'Neill and Maybourne to an extinct colony on a nearby moon._

**Please Review! It makes me really happy!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Sorry for the long delay. I was travelling for job interviews the entire month and can finally update the fic._

_Special thanks to **pathconf, Miss Pookamonga, samisim** and **asdeed** for their kind reviews. _

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**Chapter 5**

As they left the conference room and headed back to the main lab, the future Samantha Carter couldn't help but feel disappointed. She was in the past but couldn't do anything to save Rodney without causing a chain of events that might lead to some catastrophic future. Her younger self was wiser than her, maybe because her life had yet to begin and she had not lost the only person that truly loved her. Love had changed her. Who would have known she could sound so sappy?

Allowing herself to be in a relationship with a co-worker and finally surrendering to the prospect of having a real romantic life had been a huge step for her. After waiting for Jack O'neill for god knows how many years and her many failed relationships, she had lost hope of ever settling happily. That's when Rodney changed her life. Never would she have guessed that the once annoying Canadian could change and become the wonderful human being she married.

She was brought out of her thoughts by John, her unfortunate travel companion.

"So what are you thinking about?"

Sam, a sad smile lingering on her face, lifted her chin in Rodney's direction, "How messed up my life is?"

John chuckled, "Yeah. This sucks! He likes you but I can't believe I forgot how it was before... well before you got together." John felt lost, "Can you guess how far back we are?"

From her analysis of the situation they were five maybe six years in the past, she would have asked Rodney but she feared her younger self's reaction if she tried to approach him. This was crazy! How could she dislike herself in the past? _I_ _guess Rodney is not they only one who has changed._

Time was so tricky. She sighed making John worry, "What's wrong?"

Life was unfair she wanted to say but she restrained herself and said to John, "This is not going to work. I can't think about wanting to go back yet. I need to do something to save my husband."

"Hey! I know how you feel. Rodney was my best friend and I missed him as much as you…well, in a very different way obviously," he added for good measure.

Radek who was walking behind them cleared his throat to get their attention. John smiled and grasped the little Czech scientist's shoulder, "Radek, it is really good to see you. We have missed you too."

Radek gave him a weak smile and whispered to both of them, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation... Would you mind saving me too? I'm not very fond of dying."

Sam and John shared a glance acknowledging a silent agreement.

John looked back at Radek and whispered back, "Let's just say you and Rodney are a package deal on this one."

Radek frowned not quite understanding but still nodded to thank them.

A few minutes later, they reached the main lab and Colonel Carter mentioned future Sam and John to a desk where the troublesome alien device was. She gestured at it as she spoke, "Did you hold it a certain way or…"

Future Sam walked to the desk and took the device in her right hand, "I held it and thought 'let me save Rodney'."

"Sounds easy," mumbled Ronon who was leaning against the wall at the lab's entrance.

Colonel Carter fixed the device in her future self's hand, "Try to think about your own time."

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. She tried to void her mind from any thoughts of Rodney but by actually thinking of not thinking it had the opposite effect on her mind. She got no reaction from the device.

"This is not working," declared Rodney, once again stating the obvious.

"I'm trying," said future Sam without her usual conviction.

"Let me try, " proposed future John, willing to play guinea pig.

Future Sam felt panic surround her, "What about if you leave and I'm stuck here?"

"Just stay close to me. The device did grab me when I walked in. It shouldn't be that picky."

Future Sam nodded at his logic and John proceeded with the experiment. He concentrated, focusing on his own time but the device stayed dark. There was no reaction at all.

"I don't feel anything," declared John, eyes still closed in concentration.

"I guess the device only obeys to the person who gave the first order, " proposed future Sam.

"We have no clue how it works!" exclaimed Rodney.

"It doesn't mean we can't guess," answered future Sam.

"Well it was worth a try," said Colonel Carter, wanting to avoid another banter. "It's around lunch time, I guess you are both hungry. Ronon Teyla could you take them to the mess hall?"

"Of course Colonel Carter," said Teyla. Ronon grunted and was about to leave when future Sam spoke.

"Actually I was wondering if I could talk to you?"

Colonel Carter looked suspiciously at her before agreeing, "Sure, let's go to my office."

* * *

Future John left with Ronon and Teyla who took him to the mess hall, John and Rodney following them quietly.

Rodney kept glancing at John.

Unnerved, John asked him, "What?"

"You are not saying anything!" declared Rodney.

"Neither are you and in your case that's not normal so I should be the one mentioning your silence not the opposite. "

"Right."

They continued walking. Rodney not being a patient person started again, "So?"

"What?" snapped John, earning a glance from the trio ahead.

"Can we talk about it?" muttered Rodney

"If you insist," conceded John his shoulder slumping in annoyance.

"So?"

"So, I don't know what you want me to say?" John began to argue

"What are you thinking about?"

"That you are annoying me!" declared John, a pointed look on his face.

Rodney shrugged, "About the future, you idiot!"

John breathed out and said the first thing he could think of, "Congrats on getting a wife, hope you have a wonderful life…oh right you are dead, too bad!"

"Sheppard!" warned Rodney.

"Sorry Rodney." The silence grew for a few minutes before John managed to talk, "Are you planning on finding out what happens to you in the future?"

"I'm thinking that's the only solution to this mess."

"Even with the so called awaiting disaster that is changing a timeline?"

"You did it once. Changed the present to save the future."

"I know but this is different, Rodney."

Rodney didn't listen and mumbled to himself, "We need to know more about this device."

John looked at him, a worried expression on his face. Rodney was so focused on the device he didn't see the dilemma that would be presenting itself when he found his answer, "Easier said then done" said John before contining their walk to the mess hall.

* * *

Meanwhile both Sams were heading to the Colonel's office, silence as companion, their footsteps echoing along the corridor.

"I don't want you to be mad at me," declared the future Sam suddenly.

"I'm not mad at you," replied Carter, avoiding to look at her future self.

"You are upset because I told Rodney about our future together."

Carter paused to think and turned to her. She wanted to avoid any confrontation with herself. Things were bad enough already.

"I guess I am. This is just not something I expected."

"Do you love him?"

A startled expression darkened Carter's face, what was her future self trying to do here?

"WHAT? NO! Of course not," declared Carter immediately.

"Then we must be further in the past than I thought," muttered Sam.

"I can't believe we are actually talking about this," replied Carter clearly unhappy as she started walking again.

Future Sam run to catch up with her, "It won't kill you to admit that you care for him."

"Does it matter right now?"

"It would mean you can understand how I feel."

"I understand how you feel."

"Listen, I have a feeling that telling you the truth will solve this situation."

"I think that we can avoid that. I will schedule a MALP to that alien planet today so we can solve this without damaging the timeline."

Future Sam caught her arm making Carter spin on her heels, "You don't understand. The timeline NEEDS to be changed?"

Carter looked angry and tried very hard not to scream at her, "For one person? For your own needs? This is extremely selfish and not something I would do. Rodney has had a bad influence on you."

"What happened to no one gets let behind?" asked future Sam.

Carter exasperated slowly articulated her sentence, "He is not left behind! He is dead!"

She strode off to the Gateroom leaving a distraught future Sam behind her.

* * *

_...to be continued on Chapter six!_

_**Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks a lot to my reviewers: **asdeed, Samisim, Miss Pookamonga, pathconf **and** Sam Carter McKay.**_

_A/N: I know I promised this chapter a lot earlier but my beta only sent me back the chapter today…something to do with a tornado or cyclone I think… Interesting how the weather can affect your life in some parts of the world. Thanks a lot **ellymelly **for the beta work! _

_Well, I hope you will enjoy this chapter, I know I did!_

_Do not forget to review! I love you for it!_

* * *

Chapter 6

Colonel Carter was sitting in her office when John and Rodney entered. She had been staring blankly at her desk for a while as a mix of emotions ranking from annoyance to worry directed to her future self kept her from doing any work. Deep in thought, she almost didn't see her visitors until an annoyed Rodney cleared his throat.

Her gaze settling on them, she noticed they were missing some team members.

"What happened to Ronon and Teyla?" she asked, thinking the worst after the events of the day.

John threw himself into one of her chairs and replied, "Still in the commissary entertaining our guest. I grew tired of watching myself eating…"

Rodney cut him off, preventing John from explaining more, "It was awkward and I wanted to see if you had anything new."

"I ordered a MALP to check on the address of this alien race. Should be ready in half an hour," answered Carter, looking at the pair.

Upon seeing John and Rodney's uneasiness she asked, "What happened in the mess hall?"

John raised his glance at her, "It was just weird. Me arguing with me, it was like a comic show for the team. Ronon kept laughing at me. It grew tiring and we didn't have a lot to talk about anyway with all that 'no talk about the future' restriction."

"Well, _she_ had a lot to say," mumbled Carter to herself.

Rodney jumped on the barely audible words, "Really what did she say? Where is the other you by the way?"

"I sent her to the guest quarters, she was upset."

"About what?" asked Rodney, frowning.

"About…It doesn't matter. We need to send them back quickly."

Before Rodney or John could ask for more explanation, Chuck knocked on her door and announced, "The MALP is ready."

Sam stood, "Ok. Let's do this. Could you notify Ronon and Teyla and have them bring our future guests?"

As Ronon and Teyla brought Future John and Sam in the control room a sudden tension filled the atmosphere the second both Carters saw each other. Sam tried very hard not to hate her younger self for her earlier words but felt a pang of anger and jealousy upon seeing how close Rodney was standing next to her other self.

Carter purposely avoided her glance and turned to Chuck, "Dial the gate address they gave us and send the MALP."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The wormhole established, the team observed the MALP depart for its destination.

"The MALP is on the other side, receiving telemetry," announced Chuck.

A video stream came on the main control screen showing a forest and an empty clearing.

"The MALP isn't detecting any life sign on the planet. No energy readings," announced Chuck while taking his eyes of the screen.

"I could send a team," offered Carter seeing the future John's worried expression.

"No, this doesn't look like it. The planet I went to was technologically advanced, with streets starting from the Stargate to the city capital. They tried to look like humble people but look here, there's no sign of civilization, nothing but trees," Sam pointed out.

"So, time travelers? " asked John

"Maybe… or just travelers," said Ronon talking from experience.

"Wouldn't that mean that they can build a civilization very quickly?" asked Carter.

"How can you tell?" asked future Sam, intrigued.

"Because you are not from that far in the future, are you?"

Sam was shocked that her younger self had guessed the truth with so little detail.

"I don't really know for sure… When are we?"

Carter hesitated but reasoned that this was not a particularly dangerous question, "2008"

"Well you are right…not that far."

"So?" asked Rodney in confusion.

"We have no way of contacting this race. We are stuck here!" declared future Sam.

* * *

After the debacle with the MALP, the team had split up to various locations, some decided to enjoy a few distractions while others did go to do actual work. It was getting late in Rodney's lab but Sam, Radek and Rodney were still working on the alien device. A yawn broke the silence and Rodney turned to Radek surprised.

"You are still here?" asked the Canadian.

"Why? Did you see me leave? I'm still running simulations from the gate addresses in store in the DHD of the Furlings planet."

Carter had ordered Lorne's team to check the planet in case the MALP was wrong, the team came back empty handed to their future visitors' despair, with only the planet DHD content to analyze.

"Right," said Rodney a pensive look on his face and added, "Go to bed Radek. We are getting nowhere here. We will work better tomorrow morning."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah go!" he waved dismissingly at the Czech scientist.

Radek rose and headed for the door before turning at them asking, "Aren't you two coming?"

Sam looked up at the question and then turned to Rodney silently begging him not to.

Rodney answered for both of them, "We have a few more tests to run. Shouldn't last long. You go ahead. I will see you here first thing tomorrow morning."

Radek nodded, "Fine. Goodnight then."

"Goodnight Radek," said Sam with a warm smile.

"Hmm," grunted Rodney in acknowledgement.

Once alone Sam decided it was time to have the talk she had been waiting for all day and stood to get closer to Rodney.

"Rodney. I need to tell you something," she began.

"Don't!" answered Rodney without looking up at her.

"Listen, it's important," she added pleadingly.

"Carter is right. We have no right to make that kind of decision. I'm flattered that you consider me that important but what are the chances we could actually make it worse?" said Rodney looking up at her.

Sam sighed, "Fine, but I still want to talk to you about something. Late night snack? " she asked with a cheery tone, trying to pick on Rodney's weakness.

Rodney jumped from his chair smiling, "Oh yeah! I'm starving. Let's go. This can wait till morning," he said pointing at the device. Sam smirked, it was all too easy to bribe Rodney with food.

* * *

It was now past midnight and Rodney sugar level was running low. They entered the empty mess hall and headed to the leftovers left by the kitchen staff for those late working scientists.

Beef bourguignon with pasta for Rodney and the Pegasus equivalent of 'chicken' for Sam, they sat in silence knowing that whoever said the first word would start a very difficult conversation. After her third bite of chicken Sam sighed in frustration and dropped her fork.

"I never hated you. You have accused me many times of that but I never did."

Rodney gaped at her, his fork hanging loosely in his hand, trying to understand what she was saying, "Huh?"

"I know it might sound cliché but I actually liked you a lot but wouldn't admit it to myself."

Rodney closed his mouth and gulped. "O…k?"

Sam smiled at his confusion, "Sorry. I don't really know how to explain this. It's just that I found your confidence and arrogance compelling. Annoying too but also attractive."

"Really?" asked Rodney suddenly, very interested in the conversation.

"Yeah, and you are cute too!" she added, knowing this would get the reaction she wanted.

Rodney smiled but stopped suddenly and pointed accusingly at her, "Nice try but I know that I'm not!"

"Well, not cute to make the cover of those teenage magazines or the Shape Mag cover but you are attractive – for a scientist."

Rodney mused for a second before nodding, "I'm better looking than Zelenka, there's no doubt."

Sam giggled. She leaned over and whispered to Rodney, "You are right, there's no doubt, but don't tell him I said that."

Rodney gave her a warm smile in return, "Of course Sam,"

Rodney went back to eating and Sam continued to talk, playing with her fork as her chicken slowly turned cold.

"I don't know when I fell in love with you…"

Rodney choked on his beef as he swallowed it the wrong way, Sam smiled at his surprise but gave no sign of showing interest in it.

"… it was progressive and all I know is that one day I looked at you and wanted to kiss you so badly I actually did it."

Rodney gaped at her and watched her with eyes as big as saucers.

"You…You kissed me? It wasn't me acting stupid?"

"Yes, I kissed you. Gave you quite a scare, you almost fainted but Sheppard yelling your name brought you back to your senses."

"Sheppard?"

"He was in the room when I kissed you. The poor guy, I thought he was going to scream, looked like the whole world had gone mad," she chuckled.

Rodney shook his head at the thought of Sheppard going crazy because of him being kissed by a girl.

"What happened next?" asked Rodney.

"You asked me why I kissed you and I told you 'Why not?' Then I asked you if you thought it was a mistake…"

"It wasn't?"

"No…" Sam stood up and went to kneel next to him. She took his hands and said, "No matter what other people say it was not a mistake and never will be because _this_…" she squeezed his hands, "…is meant to be."

Sam slowly stood up but not before kissing Rodney on the lips. A slow brush of lips, earning a gasp from the scientist. The kiss might have lasted just a few seconds but time stopped and to Rodney the kiss lasted an entire lifetime.

A warm feeling staring from his lips and going through his entire body made him oblivous to anything else. He felt like he was floating in heaven, this was better than any hallucination or fantasy. This was a dream come true.

As quickly as the feeling had started, Rodney felt the warm feeling disappear and opened his eyes to see Sam now standing next to him, with the most amazing smile on her face.

Man! He was now in for deep trouble if Carter ever heard about it.

* * *

_To be continued on chapter 7!_

A/N: So did you like this chapter? This is not the big "talk" but I'm coming to it. Rodney his in for more drama...


	7. Chapter 7

_I know! I know! It took me a week to upload this chapter but my poor beta had a server breakdown! So, it's the computer's fault! _

_I would also like to warn you that I will be travelling for interviews during the next two weeks. I am busy this month so I hope to have time to upload the next chapters. Sorry for the inconvenience!_

__

_Thanks to my awesome reviewers: **asdeed, Samisim, Miss Pookamonga, pathconf, Sam Carter McKay** and **Cody Smith.**_I'm glad you all enjoyed last chapter. This one gets us closer to the end even if there's more coming.

_**

* * *

**_

**Chapter 7**

Waking up the next morning, Rodney McKay wondered if he hadn't dreamed last night's events. Samantha Carter…well her future version, had actually told him how they got together and had kissed him. Rodney felt a sudden rush of pleasure run through him.

He lay in his bed grinning madly while staring at the ceiling. The thought that he of all people could get what he secretly dreamed of was making him hopeful. His imagination began to wander, what life would be like with Carter…Sam? Would it be romantic? Nah! Knowing himself he would probably mess up any kind of romantic attempts. Since she was the one who actually took the first step did that mean that his Carter would kiss him? When? Now Rodney was daydreaming of Colonel Carter furiously kissing him in the control room. A certain part of his anatomy began to respond to those thoughts and Rodney groaned. _Oh great!_ How would he make it through the day with two Carters around him? This was going to be pure torture! Knowing what your life could be but not getting any, life sucked!

After a somewhat cold shower he found himself at the crime scene, the mess hall, where the kiss had happened. After grabbing a cup of coffee and a few pancakes he joined his team who was already eating breakfast. Ronon gave him a non committal grunt of welcome while Teyla smiled at him offering her usual morning greetings.

"Did you sleep well, Rodney?"

"Yeah, good thanks!" he answered her with a smile.

John raised his eyebrows at his unusually cheerful answer.

"Thanks? Now, that's interesting. First you arrive late for breakfast and now you thank Teyla for asking about your night. Something is wrong here!" emphasized Sheppard, looking at Rodney's face trying to find a clue in his eyes.

Rodney gasped and rapidly dropped his eyes to his cup of coffee, avoiding Sheppard inquisitive look.

Ronon smirked at McKay sudden discomfort and watched as a sudden blush appeared on the Canadian's cheeks.

Rodney quickly tried to think of something not suspicious to say and mumbled the first sentence crossing his mind, "Can't I have one good night sleep?"

John still looked suspiciously at him and went on asking more questions, "So did you get anywhere last night?"

Rodney chocked on his coffee. _Damn Sheppard and his insinuations…_

He looked up to see Sheppard frowning…_oh right he is talking about the device._

"Not really," answered Rodney, happy that he was safe for the moment. "This technology is beyond my understanding. I'm not sure there anything I can do to make the damn device work"

"Nothing is impossible with you," declared John, smiling cheekily at him.

Ronon shook his head in approval. "You always get it at the end McKay."

"Thanks for the overconfidence guys!" snarled Rodney knowing they were actually teasing his ego.

Suddenly, Teyla stood up and began to grab her tray.

"Where are you going?" asked Rodney puzzled by the Athosian leaving without saying a word.

"Colonel Carter has asked me to keep company to our guests. "

"What? Why?" nervousness was in Rodney's voice as he feared Carter might have heard of what happened last night.

"To be nice, Rodney."

"No... I mean. Won't they want to help me in the lab?" Rodney tried to sound as natural as he could muster.

"I think it is merely a way for the Colonel to make sure that no future secrets are let lose," said Teyla with a diplomatic smile on her face.

Rodney felt suspicion invade him. Did Carter not trust him with her future self?

"Anyway, I must go check on them. I will see you all later."

"Bye Teyla!" both Ronon and John answered as she turned to leave.

Rodney was still deep in thought and it was only half an hour later that he noticed he had finished his breakfast and had managed to walk back to the lab. He was now standing in the middle of the lab, Radek glancing at him a worried look on his face.

"Did you say something?" asked Rodney, feeling he was losing his mind.

"No, but you look lost. Has something happened?"

"No."

"Then maybe we should continue to work on this," declared Radek pointing at the object of their trouble.

"Right!"

And with that thought Rodney went back to work still bothered by Carter's suspicious orders and with Sam's kiss still fresh on his mind.

* * *

It often seems difficult to understand the behavior of people you don't know, but here, the difficulty was trying to understand one's own behavior. Colonel Carter was scared, a feeling caused by her not knowing herself as well as she thought. Yesterday, she had been contemplating her future self's passion and obsession for a man she, in the present, would not dare to care for. Today, she felt that this passion she would develop in the future would become a threat. She could not fall for Rodney McKay… _that sounded so weird to her ears. _

She could not and would not fall for Rodney. A leader must care about the people under his or her command but deeper feeling that could threaten the entire expedition were out of the question. She cleared her mind. A new determination found, Sam stood up from her chair and headed to the control room.

Addressing Chuck, who appeared to be dozing in front of his computer screen, she asked, "Put me in contact with the Genii. I need to know if they have any intelligence about the Furling or any advance race capable of creating time travel devices."

"Yes, Ma'am," answered the younger Canadian, his eyes blinking rapidly in order to wake up from his slumber.

* * *

Meanwhile, Teyla and the future travelers were sitting in the entertainment room trying to pass time. Future John had chosen to watch the new X-files movie (well, not exactly new since John had already seen it in the past but it was the newest DVD Atlantis had received from Earth this month.) John watched with interest as Mulder and Scully made there way through a very creepy dark forest when Sam let out scream of frustration.

"You know this is stupid!"

John was about to retort that this was Sci-Fi and complete made up but Teyla cut him before he could actually argue.

She looked up at Sam with a sad smile, "This is for our protection."

John felt disoriented by the sudden change of topic but recovered as Sam went on ranting.

"Maybe, but it has never stopped us before. We take risks all the time. We break rules. I know that doesn't sound like me but we must break rules now."

John, finally catching up with the conversation, intervened. "Hey! Calm down Sam. It's not like we have a deadline. We are in the past and know what happened then. It's not like we will screw up anything since …" he was cut short by Sam's emotional response.

"She doesn't want to face it," declared Sam standing up from the couch and started pacing.

John brows furrowed in complete loss, "Huh?"

"The fact that she loves Rodney!"

Teyla chuckled at that, "As much as I would like to think that Colonel Carter is harboring romantic feeling for Rodney, she has not acted in any improper way that would disregard her status as military commander."

John looked at Teyla still frowning, "What?"

"She hasn't shown any sign of affection except respect for Rodney."

"Oh right. Well, Rodney isn't his charming self everyday. I guess she doesn't love him yet."

"Well,_ I_ being _her _I can tell you that she does have feelings for him right now."

Sam continued to pace the room, the movie long forgotten. "There must be a way to solve everything."

Teyla stood up and gently put an arm on Sam's shoulder making her stop, "I know this is difficult for you but you must trust your other self to resolve this."

Sam shrugged, for the first time in her life she didn't know if she could trust herself into making the right decision.

* * *

Colonel Carter was talking to a Genii colonel when Sheppard, followed closely by Ronon, entered the control room. Sam thanked the man on the other side of the connection and watched the wormhole disconnect before turning to them.

"What was that about?" asked Sheppard, looking a bit upset after seeing the Genii uniform on the man in the video.

"I was gathering intelligence. It seems that the Genii heard about the Furlings too, or at least an advanced race rumored to have changed planet leaving it completely deserted."

"Did they give you an address?"

"Not exactly. It's all rumors and the planet might look like the one we checked yesterday, an inhabited natural sanctuary."

"Damn Furlings!" swore John.

"So we still have no idea how to send them back," concluded Ronon.

"Nope," declared Carter, her shoulder lowering in defeat.

* * *

The morning became afternoon and Carter felt obliged to check on McKay and Zelenka's progress.

The lab was unusually quiet. Rodney was deep in concentration, trying to resolve a series of equations on his laptop. Carter went over to him sparing a quick glance at Radek who seemed busy on his side of the lab.

Rodney was startled when she brushed past him.

"Anything?" she whispered to avoid disturbing Radek.

"Does complete gibberish count as something?" snarled Rodney, obviously not in a good mood.

"That bad?"

"Yeah."

She put a hand on his arm, a sudden jolt of electricity crossed their bodies making him turn his head to look at her.

Rodney froze. A déjà vu flashed before his eyes and he felt the sudden urge to kiss her. Their eyes locked and silently he gazed deep into her ocean blue eyes, right into her soul.

Carter was shocked still in a trance, she could not look away even if her mind screamed her to. She had a feeling Rodney was as helpless as her right now. The feeling that something big was happening, a revelation or a confirmation maybe… Maybe she did love him after all, maybe she could not prevent herself from falling in love with him. She considered leaning closer but was interrupted by Radek clearing his throat.

"Hmm Hmm. Did you hear a word of what I said?"

Carter looked away from Rodney and blushed a deep crimson red. Rodney sighed and turned to snap at the Czech scientist, "WHAT?"

Evil cliff!!

* * *

_ A/N: I hope this was as good for you as it was for me!! giggles_

_Who wants to strangle Radek? More next chapter!!_


	8. Chapter 8

_I know you guys have been so good waiting for this chapter. I warned you I would be travelling a lot and still am. I apologize for the wait and hope you will enjoy this chapter. The end is near!_

_This chapter was written in between two interviews so hopefully I won't have rushed it too much. It is also longer!_

_Thank you __**ellymelly **__my awesome beta!_

_I am also very grateful to my regular and new reviewers: __**asdeed, Samisim, Miss Pookamonga, saphiretwin369, Sam Carter McKay,**__**Cody Smith **__and__** Lysiam.**_

_**Your reviews are always a pleasure to read!**_

* * *

Previously, in chapter 7…

_The feeling that something big was happening, a revelation or a confirmation maybe… Maybe she did love him after all, maybe she could not prevent herself from falling in love with him. She considered leaning closer but was interrupted by Radek clearing his throat._

"_Huh-hmm. Did you hear a word of what I said?"_

_Carter looked away from Rodney and blushed a deep crimson red. Rodney sighed and turned to snap at the Czech scientist, "WHAT?"_

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Radek was surprised that both of the scientists had been oblivious to his previous words. This was not their usual behavior, they were always so focused... His musing stopped short at Rodney's annoyed tone snapping back at him, "WHAT?"

Radek sighed, "The data from the DHD of the Furling planet is either hidden or encoded. I have been working on it since yesterday and the little I can get makes no sense but I have a theory..."

Rodney rolled his eyes, he had been interrupted for this?

"So?" he asked, even more annoyed.

"This race altered the DHD so it would modify its data every time someone comes through the gate. There must be some device hidden to prevent us from getting the information we need."

Carter still hadn't said a word, and had a hard time focusing on the conversation. Still in shock from the appearance of her feelings for Rodney, her brain was still trying to comprehend what it had almost wished to do. The sudden surge of feelings had thrown her off balance and now she was left blushing despite herself. She looked at Rodney who seemed to be unaffected by their connection a few minutes ago and wondered if she had not imagined the whole thing. She finally managed to compose herself before looking Radek in the eye.

"You are sure that this data was altered by another alien device? The MALP showed nothing that could confirm any presence of foreign technology and Major Lorne's team didn't report anything of the sort."

"Yes. This data is compromised by something but the DHD still has the information I need. I suggest you send a team now. I could come with them to find the original data and get it back here."

Carter nodded and left the room without sparing a glace at Rodney.

Radek stared curiously at her retreating form before turning to Rodney.

"Do you want to take a look at the data?"

Rodney was staring blankly at the spot Carter had occupied a few seconds ago, "No, I need a break." With that, Rodney left the lab leaving Radek even more puzzled than he already was.

* * *

Two hours later, Radek and the team led by Captain Vega came back with an interesting report. They had found a device embedded in the DHD. Radek's suspicions had been right but the device had been a bit problematic to turn off. Radek informed Carter and McKay that the device had a similarity to their time travelling device and he actually didn't know how he had managed to turn to disable it.

"_It just turned itself off," the Czech scientist had said, helpless._

Radek had managed to bring back a very large amount of data from the DHD memory crystal and left directly to the lab as soon as the mission report ended.

Rodney was still in the conference room waiting for Captain Vega and her team to leave. He was sitting there, watching Carter gather the few papers scattered before her. She took notice of his eyes watching her and finally asked him, "Is there something that you needed?"

To tell the truth Rodney wasn't sure why he was waiting here. He had been surprised by their connection in the lab and had not been able to think properly since her sudden departure earlier.

"I…" began Rodney. "I think we need to talk."

Rodney felt the blood rush from his face at his sudden bold behavior. He never had been one to talk but the past days had been too much for him and he needed to know where he stood right now.

Carter looked up at him with a surprised look flashing over her face. She gave a small nod and said, "Has she talked to you too?"

No need to say who she was referring too. Future Sam had managed to break the emotional shell between them and talking was actually becoming necessary at this point.

"She did," answered Rodney. "She told me a few things but they don't really matter here." He stopped for a moment.

"I wanted to talk about what happened…" he sighed. "Did you fell something in the lab?"

Carter opened her mouth but was too shocked to answer him.

Rodney dropped his gaze and continued, "I felt something when I looked in your eyes. I hope that doesn't sound too cheesy. It does sound cheesy! Oh great, this was a bad idea…now I'm rambling."

Carter smiled despite herself and let a small chuckle she quickly tried to stifle with her hand.

Rodney looked up at her, outraged by her reaction but quickly saw the smile on her face and smiled back.

"Sorry!" they both whispered.

Rodney continued, feeling a bit braver now that she was smiling, "Look, I know this situation is not the best but I have come to realize that maybe…"

"I like you too," blurted Carter.

"Oh!" was all Rodney could manage at this point.

Carter was biting her lower lip, not believing what she had actually said. She was not acting rationally and blamed her brain for that. She waited to see what Rodney would say next.

Rodney grinned at her and took a step closer to her, "Really?"

She released her lower lip from her teeth and smiled.

A buzz coming from her earpiece told her that someone was calling her, she gave a sad smile to Rodney before answering.

"This is Carter."

Rodney watched with fascination as she tucked her hair behind her ear and continued her conversation with whoever was calling. Right now, Rodney was felling pretty smug but that was until he heard her end her conversation.

"Sure Radek, we will be right there."

Rodney sighed, their talk would have to wait.

"That was fast," said Rodney, trying not to sound disappointed.

"Radek mentioned something very interesting. We should go."

They both left the room, a bit frustrated for not being able to finish their discussion but still happy they had managed to acknowledge that something was happening between them.

* * *

Radek frowned at the pair who entered the lab wearing the same little smile on their faces. Rodney was the first to recover upon seeing Radek gaze seriously in their direction.

"So? What did you find?" he asked abruptely.

"There's a gate address present over a hundred times in the DHD memory crystal."

Carter and Rodney looked at each other for a second before shifting their gaze to Radek, finally focusing on the meaning behind Radek's words.

"Really?" both asked in one voice.

Radek gave a small chuckle at their reaction.

"Yes. There are many gate addresses on the crystal but one has been dialed too many times to be a coincidence, so I assume it could lead us to these Furlings or someone who knows them."

Carter nodded and smiled, this was good news. _Finally things seemed to be turning to the better_.

Too happy about finally having a lead to the Furlings, she turned to leave before saying, "I'm going to schedule a recon mission ASAP. I can have a team ready in one hour."

Carter was already at the door when Rodney stopped her, a trace of hesitation in his voice "I…I want to go!"

Carter snapped her head back to watch him. Surprised she raised her eyebrows, unsure of Rodney's motives behind his uncertainty and desire to go on a recon mission.

"Alright, I will talk to Sheppard."

She left the lab and Radek looked at Rodney suspiciously, "What was all of that about?"

"What?"

"You…her… you are both acting weird… distracted."

Rodney's mouth opened a few time but didn't know what lie he could give Radek. He wasn't sure what was going on with himself either.

Radek shook his head and muttered, "Never mind." The Czech scientist took his laptop and left the lab for the control room leaving a perplex Rodney behind.

* * *

One hour later, Sheppard's team was in the Gateroom along with Future Sam and John. Everyone seemed to be in a different range of nervousness when Rodney finally joined them

Rodney took a second to notice that his team and the future visitors were all going on this mission with him. Rodney grunted and looked at Sheppard, "So everyone is going?"

Sheppard smirked at Rodney's reaction, "Yep. We are all bored and this could be a huge mission if we finally get to meet the Furlings. You didn't think we would leave you to have all the fun?"

Rodney shrugged and avoided Sheppard's teasing gaze.

Colonel Carter was watching them from the Control Room, feeling a bit worried. This was just another lead and she knew that she shouldn't be overconfident about it but somehow she had a feeling this mission would have a better outcome than the other. She gave Chuck the go-ahead to dial the Gate and stared pensively as the glyphs slowly lighted themselves.

The wormhole established without problems and connected to the planet. However, a few seconds after the usual blue glow materialized a weird greenish glow came from the wormhole. The team looked at each other before turning their focus on Rodney who was already theorizing about what this could mean.

Carter turned to Chuck, "Are you getting any energy readings from the wormhole?"

"Yes, there's an EM reading emanating from the event horizon but not strong enough to affect our side of the wormhole."

"It could be an integrated shield with electromagnetic properties," proposed Carter to her audience below.

"A weapon disabler?" yelled Rodney from the Gateroom, thinking of a report he had read from SG1.

"An MRI?" suggested Future John after watching Future Sam nod at Rodney's guess.

"Send The MALP," ordered Colonel Sheppard

"WAIT!" yelled Rodney. "The electromagnetic field might disable the MALP, we should not waste technology for nothing!" he argued, a bewildered look on his face.

Sheppard shook his head, "I'm willing to take the risk, send the MALP."

Colonel Carter nodded at John. He was right, they had to try something. They had lost enough time already.

The MALP slowly went through the wormhole and disappeared.

Every head turned upward to the Control Room, waiting for Chuck and Carter to say something.

"Receiving telemetry…"

A relieved sigh came from Rodney's direction.

"We have a connection," said Carter.

A white glow was coming from the computer screen where a middle aged man could be seen wearing a white robe as he was standing in front of the MALP, an expression of curiosity in his eyes.

"Hello?" The voice of the man came through the computer's speakers. He spoke in a thick accent and seemed careful not to move any closer to the MALP.

"Hello?" answered Carter.

John and Rodney ran up the stairs soon followed by everyone else.

The man was speaking again, "My name is Delios Naphrati, I'm the guardian of this planet. What is your purpose here?" he said, still watching the MALP with what Rodney could take as scientific interest.

"Hi! My name is Colonel Samantha Carter from Atlantis. You are talking to us thanks to a communication device we use to explore other planets. We are explorers searching for a race called the Furlings or maybe known by another name. We found this address on another planet known to have been inhabited by this race."

Delios was standing unmoving. His face seemed not to show any emotion upon hearing Carter's words. "I see. And why do you need to find those … Furlings?" asked he man cautiously.

"We found a device created by them that has caused some problems and we now need their help."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with this matter."

"Please. If this address is right you must know about this race. They have come to your planet many times. Maybe they are trading partners or are related to you. We need you to help us with this device."

The man thought for a while before speaking again, "What is the problem this device is causing to you?"

"It brought time travelers to our planet."

"… I see."

Delios didn't seem surprised by this information which led Rodney to think the guy was actually a Furling himself. Delios continued to stare at the MALP and gave a stern look in the video.

"Some events are not meant to happen and this is a bigger problem than your mind can comprehend. Send one of your people with this device and I will see what I can do."

Carter quickly tried to intercede.

"We usually don't let people travel alone for safety reasons. Allow me to send a team."

"Which number would satisfy your safety procedures?"

"Four people," said Carter thinking of sending SGA-1 only.

Delios seemed to think for a long time and the silence grew unpleasant on Atlantis.

"I accept. Do send the time travelers you mentioned. I need to talk to them personally."

Carter sighed, "Fine."

She nodded at Sheppard who looked at Ronon and Teyla, "Sorry guys. Better luck next time."

Ronon grunted, "You sure you don't want me to come instead of McKay?"

"As much as I hate to say it, he will be more useful on this mission."

Carter addressed Delios via the MALP, "They are coming through now."

Delios nodded and walked away from the Gate, leaving outside the MALP video range.

Rodney, the two Sheppards and Sam walked down the stairs of the Control Room and crossed the event horizon, the wormhole shutting behind them. Carter stood still watching the now empty room and wondered what could possibly happen now.

* * *

**Next chapter… soon enough!**

**A/N:** I actually had two different ideas for this chapter and choose more Furlings to the plot over a more philosophical discussion.

**Do tell me if you liked**. I will try to post next chapter next week (if I don't have to go across the country again!)


	9. Chapter 9

**We are almost there!**

**Thank you my faithful readers and reviewers: **_**asdeed, Samisim, Miss Pookamonga, saphiretwin369 and Cody Smith.**_

**As usual, your reviews make me very happy! **

**I am currently polishing the final chapter and thinking of maybe writing an epilogue.**

**Leliana**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

As the team stepped out on the other side of the wormhole they were suddenly engulfed by a bright light. Sheppard and McKay were surrounded by a white glow that seemed to intensify. Soon, they needed to shield their eyes as the light reached its maximum intensity. Meanwhile, Future Sam and John were affected by a similar phenomenon; a green glow was quickly growing around them before it disappeared without warning. Sheppard and McKay were released a few seconds after them and blinked at the sudden changed of luminosity. Stunned at first, they slowly started down the stairs still in a daze.

Sheppard was the first to react and yelled at Delios with fury, his p90 ready for use.

"What the hell was that?"

Delios took a step their way and answered him, "You were scanned to recognize your actual timeline."

Rodney pointed an accusing finger to Delios and exclaimed, "AHAH! So you _are_ Furlings! I knew it!"

Delios didn't seem impressed by Rodney's behavior and waved him off, "Who we are is of no importance. Those two," he pointed to future Sam and John, "are not in their right position in the order of the universe. This needs to be fixed quickly."

Sam walked to Delios and stopped right in front of him, "Your race allowed me to use the device in the future because I needed it. I must know if I managed to change the past. I can't go back without achieving what I'm here for."

Sam was pleading to Delios while giving small glances in Rodney's direction.

Delios seemed to consider her request and followed the direction of her glance.

Rodney stood uneasily under such scrutiny. He knew that he shouldn't speak; his big mouth might compromise any alliance with the Furlings.

"You are the one who was in need of changing the timeline then I will spoke to you only. Come with me." Delios instructed Sam and left on the small path to their right leading to what seemed an empty clearing.

Sheppard didn't agree at all, "Hey. Wait up buddy! If you remember Colonel Carter told you we don't travel alone. We all stay together."

John was upset and clearly didn't trust Delios in taking future Sam anywhere.

"This Colonel Carter doesn't seem to mind," answered Delios, looking at future Sam who was already following him.

John raised his voice, "I'm in command of this team and we all go with you wherever it is you are going.

Delios simply nodded and continued to walk. The team quickly caught up with him and continued to follow Delios in silence.

Half an hour later they reached a small house surrounded by trees. Just like the Stargate surroundings, everything looked like the set of 'Little House on the prairie.' Fields for miles and miles, it looked like a normal countryside farm house, no sign of advanced technology or people actually.

Rodney felt ill at ease, he had the strange feeling that he was being observed but the only presence around them was the wind.

Once they entered the house they saw that a table had been set up and that food was warm on the plates.

"Please sit .This food has been prepared for you," indicated Delios, his hand gesturing at the chairs.

Sheppard looked suspiciously at Delios, "Did you give some kind of telepathic warning to your invisible wife?"

Delios looked back at him impassively and then gave him a small smirk, "You people from Earth always have this inquisitiveness. You should know by now that you won't get the answers you want."

Rodney's head snapped back at him, this man definitely knew more than he let on.

Sheppard was not surprised by the statement but couldn't help but feel they had been tricked and coming here was a waste of time.

Future John sighed, "All these advanced races tend to be so patronizing!"

"Maybe because you young ones aren't wise enough to understand the meaning of your actions."

Delios then turned to Sam, "Please follow me."

Sam nodded before Sheppard could intervene…. A flash of bright light blinded them the second she and Delios stepped into the room to their right, leaving the space where they stood empty.

"F...! I knew this would happen."

Future Sheppard looked at his counterpart, "Well, he didn't seem menacing. He really did want to help so I guess this is alright."

"Have I become reckless in the future?"

"HEY!"

Rodney wasn't paying attention to any of them; he still hadn't said a word and continued to stare at the spot Sam had been standing a few moments ago, worry filling his heart. He cared about her. On the one hand she was not his Sam but on the other hand he couldn't help but love her too.

_Two of you and one me_, the equation seemed off balance. In order to get '1+ 1 2' Rodney needed to let go of one Sam but he couldn't. Rodney walked to the room and crossed the threshold. Both Johns yelled after him, "Don't!"

Fortunately, nothing happened to Rodney much to his disappointment. He now stood in the next room that was actually a small bedroom with little furniture.

The three men were stuck in this little house waiting for Sam and Delios to return.

* * *

Sam blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the lighting of the room she now stood in. The change was quite spectacular compared to the small house she had been a few moments ago. The room was big with a hollow glow coming from the walls where many inscriptions in a foreign language could be seen. In the middle of the room were various devices all made in the same grayish metal, all emitting a small glow. Their shape reminded Sam of those futuristic scifi movies they has on Earth and she now understood why the Furlings tried to hide their technological advancements. Their technology looked even more impressive than the Ancient's.

Delios seemed to read her mind, "We try not to draw attention. We hide through time and observe the rise and fall of many civilizations."

Sam nodded at him and slowly reached her backpack.

Delios smiled at her, "Do give it to me. I will see if everything is in order."

Sam took the time travel device from the backpack and handed it to Delios who took it and put it on the square table in the middle of the room.

The device began to glow and turned a darker shade of grey before returning to its original state.

"Your task is not done and I'm afraid I can't allow you to stay on this timeline much longer. From the information I gathered you already changed a few things that might lead to a different future for you."

"What do you mean? Did I accidently destroy Atlantis?"

"I can't tell you. I must send you back to the future, things will turn worse if you stay."

"Please don't! I need to save Rodney; your people never mentioned a deadline to do it."

Delios frowned, "Supposedly there isn't one but usually people who use it manage to achieve their goal immediately."

Sam looked defeated, "I don't know how I am supposed to do it"

"Usually the simplest way is the best."

Sam opened her mouth to speak but had no idea what the simplest way was. Delios smiled at her confusion.

"Tell him what happens."

Sam's eyes grew wide at the suggestion, "But isn't the first rule of time travelling to avoid direct mention of future events? To avoid a tear in the fabric of the Universe?" Her question made Delios chuckle.

"Human theories about time travelling are far from the truth. Talk and the device will send you back once it's done. You are trying to complicate things by using caution this time."

"This time? What do you mean?"

"Just do what I told you."

"Won't I be the cause of deeper changes in the future if I do this? Will he… will he still be the same person I know?"

"Your fears have no reasons to be. If anything needs to be fixed my people will do what they must. You only need to worry about going back to your timeline."

Sam was about to reply when a bright light again engulfed her.

* * *

Sam found herself standing with her team back at the Stargate, her backpack at her feet.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Sheppard, focusing on Sam.

Rodney rushed to her and grabbed her arm, "Are you ok? Did he harm you?"

Sam smiled at his concern.

"No Rodney. I'm fine. He just told me what to do. Let's go back to Atlantis."

Sam had taken her backpack and was already walking away to dial the gate. Rodney who had to let go of her arm observed her with curiosity.

"Hey! Hold on a minute. What happened out there?" insisted Sheppard. Future John and Rodney looked at her expectantly.

Sam sighed. She had to tell them something or they would stay there all day.

"We went to another room and Delios checked the device. He told me how to go back and that's it. Can we go now?"

"Right."

Sheppard was not happy with her answer but this would have to wait for the debriefing.

Rodney went up to Sam as she dialed on the DHD and whispered to her, "Are you sure you are alright?"

She looked up at him and whispered back, "I am. I must tell you the truth about the future, your death, but not here. When we go back we need to talk in private. Delios told me I needn't be so cautious about telling you but I don't want to take any chances."

"Ok. But why the rush?"

"Apparently we already have changed the future in some way and the longer I stay the more changes there will be. I just want to go back to my husband." They both stared at each other sharing a little smile of understanding.

The wormhole established and Sheppard sent his ID to Atlantis.

"Ready guys?"

Sam nodded at Sheppard and looked back at Rodney, "Come on let's go!"

Rodney followed her as she crossed the wormhole, smiling.

_**La s**__**uite au prochain épisode!**_

* * *

_**You know you want to review ! -smiles-**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Finally, the complete story! **

**I am so grateful you all waited patiently for this. You have been great readers and reviewers and I hope you enjoyed this story.**

**I went on a little last minute holiday (I guess I'm not the only one!) so this chapter comes a bit late in my original planning (I wanted to post this just after Search and Rescue. Yep, there is a spoiler for season five!) **

**This is the finale chapter, complete with the epilogue in tow.**

**Thank you again my faithful readers, I really appreciated your reviews and hope to read your opinion of this last chapter.**

_**asdeed, Samisim, Miss Pookamonga, saphiretwin369, Cody Smith and SamCarterMckay… YOU ROCK!**_

**I would also like to thank my awesome beta: ellymelly who had her fair share of adventures while beta-ing this.**

**As usual, any review make me very happy! **

**'hugs'**

**LelianaMcKay**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

As soon as the team stepped back on Atlantis, Colonel Carter was at their side in the Gateroom, a thousand questions on her mind. The wait had been stressful even for her but she was also excited about what the Furlings had to say.

She stepped by John and Rodney, a hopeful look on her face.

"So, can they go back? Did he tell you anything useful?"

Sheppard snorted and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Ask her! We weren't included in their little _meeting_."

Carter raised her eyebrows at Sheppard's tone; he was obviously upset about what had happened on the planet.

Future John watched his counterpart in understanding – John Sheppard did _not_ like being left out in the dark. He, on the other hand, was used to it and not too worried about what Sam was hiding from them. She and Rodney had their fair share of secrets in the future and John had learned to read when not to ask too much.

Future Sam put her backpack on the floor and finally explained herself, "Delios felt he should talk only to me since I was the one who activated the device and needed it. He told me how to go back and I think I should avoid telling too much despite his advice. There have already been effects on the future,"

All looked at Sam, surprised.

"Like what?" asked Carter.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me but he did let slip that this wasn't my first time traveling using the device."

This revelation made Rodney even more uncomfortable, he had not died once but twice already and maybe more. Changing the future seemed a lot more complicated than he thought, still he was grateful that Sam was dedicated to save his life.

Carter's thoughts were more focused on the technicality of it all.

"So that means you didn't save Rodney that first time, you already did this…" She paused and thought about it for a moment. What had happened the first time? Obviously time travelling seemed to change one's perception of the timeline.

Sam interrupted her thoughts.

"I am as lost as you are, for me this is the first time I've used this device. I don't know what he meant. I think that the device automatically erases the memory of the user when they go back to their timeline."

Carter continued her train of thoughts, "You might have done this before and it didn't work. The question is why?"

Sam nodded, "Delios seemed to think I could easily change the future,"

"Maybe you did it wrong the first time. What do you have to do?"

Sam could feel everyone's eyes upon her. She sighed and finally embraced her task.

"I must talk to Rodney… in private. If you can excuse us."

Carter and both Sheppards looked at her in confusion.

"Wait. What did he tell you?" Carter asked again.

"I must talk to Rodney!" Declared Sam exasperated.

Carter frowned not really understanding if her future self was avoiding the question or actually answering her.

Rodney nodded at her and followed Sam out into the corridor.

* * *

Rodney and Sam walked to his quarters in silence, both anticipating the conversation ahead. Once inside, Sam went directly to his bed and sat on it while Rodney stayed on his feet by the entrance, looking unsure about what he should do.

Without a word, Sam looked up at Rodney and patted the spot next to her.

Rodney sighed. He was anticipating the possible death sentence she would give him; this was definitely not something he was looking for. Finally, he gathered his courage and headed to the bed sitting at a safe distance from her.

Sam was looking at the wall in front of her. Without warning, she uttered a date.

"November 13th 2012… that's the day you died."

Rodney gulped and shivered at knowing the day of his demise. He didn't say anything, just stared blankly ahead as Sam continued her story.

"It was an accident. You were working on an experiment with Radek, Marcos and Jacobson on M4X-348."

She stopped for a moment, having a hard time trying to speak. She took a deep breath as Rodney finally turned to look at her. She continued, avoiding looking at him.

"The human population there, the Voltarans, is descendant of the Ancients and has an amazing understanding of their technology. You were so excited…" Sam laughed in remembrance. "You searched their database and came up with this big project about a new defense system for Atlantis. You and Radek were like kids playing with all those new schematics and with the head scientist on this planet you designed a hybrid drone technology. It was so cleaver. I was so proud of you."

Rodney was watching her carefully; he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes but didn't dare to touch her.

"You designed the entire system based on that new math you created when you almost ascended, I think the Ancients would have been so proud as well. You are really a genius."

Rodney beamed inside but rapidly came back to the reality when Sam choked as tears came down her face at full force.

"That day, you and the other scientists were calibrating the drones via this god damn device…" She sniffled, "I don't even want to remember this -"

Rodney put his hand on her shoulder and told her, "It's ok. You don't have to tell me everything right away."

She finally faced him and took both his hands in hers.

"No I have to. If not I will never be able to do it and you will die."

She continued, "Once turned on, the device increasingly drew power from the main generator and stopped responding, it overloaded and the drones attached to it exploded in the room, killing you, Radek, Marcos, Jacobson, and the three Voltaran scientists in the room."

Sam shifted closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, "You didn't have time to leave the room, no one did. You were just…gone, and I lost you. It hurt so much, it still does."

She was now openly crying on his shoulder. Rodney was rubbing her back to comfort her but soon dropped any pretense and finally hugged her. She put her hands around him in response, holding him so tight he was having a hard time breathing.

Both scientists, friends, lovers to be cried in each other's arms.

* * *

Somewhere on the other side of Atlantis, the Sheppards and Carter watched as Sam's back backpack began to glow.

"Huh oh! Guess that this is the 'time to go' warning?" declared Future John.

Carter nodded and turned on her head set to call Rodney.

"McKay do you read?"

Rodney jumped, still hugging Sam; he quickly wiped the tears that had made way down on his face and took the call, giving an apologetic look at Sam.

"Hmm. Yes, I'm here. What's up?" He asked weakly.

Carter's voice came back to him, "The time device is glowing, meet me with her in your lab ASAP. I guess that whatever she did worked."

"Right. Ok, we are coming. McKay out."

* * *

Sam's tears were still fresh and she looked questioningly at Rodney.

"What was that?"

"It worked. The device is glowing. They are going to the lab so you both can go." Rodney was beaming inside, this was great news, the future could be changed after all. Still, after this emotional journey he couldn't help than feel sad she was leaving but tried not to show it.

Sam frowned not expecting a result that quickly.

"Already? But I wanted to tell you more!"

"You told me how I died. I will make sure this does not happen again. No more experiments about drones, I promise." Rodney said lifting his right hand and putting his left one over his heart to show her his truthfulness.

Sam smiled and wiped her tears, "But I want to tell you more about us."

"I guess I will have to wait and see for myself," answered Rodney grinning back at her.

Sam's smile suddenly disappeared and got a serious expression on her face.

"Alright but I should warn you things are going to get worse before we finally get together."

Rodney swore, "Damn Wraiths!"

"Nope. Not them but I will be back."

Rodney raised his eyebrow, "You are leaving?"

Sam stood up and headed to the door, "Looks like it."

"No I mean, in the future?" Rodney stood up too and followed her out.

"Like you said, you will have to wait and see," she answered smiling. Her tears were finally gone and she felt better than she never had.

Rodney walked with her to the lab, watching her from time to time. He was looking for a clue about her intriguing statement but she was too happy to notice. He dropped the subject and enjoyed the smile on her face, he was happy that she was happy, no matter how cheesy that was.

* * *

When they reached the lab, Radek greeted them with the rest of the team. Future John was standing next to the device waiting for Sam to come next to him.

"This is exciting!" declared the Czech scientist. Radek was monitoring the activity coming from the device with his laptop and smiled at Rodney.

Rodney nodded, "Yep, looks like neither of us are going to die in the near future, what a relief!"

Sam squeezed Rodney's arm as she passed his side and kissed him the cheek. Rodney beamed after her.

The light coming from the device grew exponentially in the room as Sam stepped next to John.

"Remember Rodney. Wait for me!" yelled Sam as the light engulfed her and John into nothingness.

"I promise," yelled back Rodney.

The device suddenly stopped glowing and the lab was left with two people less.

Radek clapped, "This device is really amazing, we could actually do so much with it."

Carter didn't pay attention to what Radek was saying and stepped close to Rodney, "What was that about?"

Rodney looked at her lovingly, "I will wait for you Sam," he caressed her cheek, "I promise!"

And with that Rodney left the lab, leaving Carter to wonder what was hidden behind those words.

_The end…. Nah!_

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

_**Sometime in the future**_

"You know I think I liked the future you better."

"Excuse me!" She playfully slapped his arm.

"Well, she at least gave me some warnings about our relationship; you just keep throwing surprises at me."

"Rodney, life is full of surprises; you can't expect me to tell you things I don't even know about?"

"Well, I like to be warned when something big is happening. I am so glad I knew you would somehow leave Atlantis but come back a year later. Told you I would wait!"

"You sure did. But here you are implying that I should have warned you I could get pregnant?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Rodney, as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

"I guess Carson still needs to give you those sex-ed classes," teased Sam.

Rodney didn't take the bait, "Well, you could give me one tonight, honey."

Sam giggled and leaned to kiss him, "I love you. Thanks for waiting for me!"

Rodney grinned sheepishly as he kissed her, "Thanks for coming back and ... I love you more!"

They both shared a knowing grin. Future Sam was his Sam all along and now his second biggest dream was coming true - he was starting his own family.

**_The end!!_**

_Thanks again for reading this story!_

_Come on, you know you want to review!!_


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